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Thursday, July 31, 2014

Earlier
this week I wrote
about the candidates for Circuit Judge from Group 3. In this post, I’ll look
at the candidates from Group 16: Amy Hawthorne and Steven S. Leskovich.

Group 16: Amy Hawthorne

Amy Hawthorne

Amy
Hawthorne is currently serving as a Circuit Court Judge for Charlotte, Collier,
Hendry, Glades and Lee Counties. She was appointed to the bench by Governor
Rick Scott in 2012. Her campaign slogan is “Keep Judge Amy Hawthorne for
Circuit Judge.”

Her
campaign website, Facebook and Twitter presence make appropriate
use of social media. I was unable to find a presence on LinkedIn.

Hawthorne raised $29,225 through 176 monetary
contributions, $100,441 through personal loans and $2,379 through 12 in-kind
contributions, and spent $60,765 through 7/18/14. The largest single contribution was for
$1,000; six attorneys and one homemaker contributed $1,000 each.

Other of note: The majority of contributors are
attorneys. There are also judges, local business people, a few retirees, a
university professor, Director of the SWFLA Police Academy, and the Lee County
Tax Collector.

Hawthorne’s
website lists the members of Amy’s Campaign Committee,
“comprised of local attorneys and community leaders that work together towards
the goal of keeping Amy on the bench of the 20th Judicial Circuit Court. Of
note are Gary Aubuchon, Former State Representative; Joseph P. D'Alessandro,
Esq. Former State Attorney, 20th Judicial Circuit; Larry Hart, Lee County Tax
Collector; Randall P. Henderson, Jr., Mayor, City of Fort Myers; Marni Sawicki,
Mayor, City of Cape Coral; Mike Scott, Sheriff, Lee County; Steve Whidden,
Sheriff, Hendry County; Stuart Whiddon, Sheriff, Glades County.

Her campaign post card, mailed to my home, says,
“The role of judges in the court system is not to impose their own personal
views and agendas – it is to fairly interpret the law the way that it was
written. As your Circuit Judge, I hold myself to that standard every day.”

A Google search turned up an
article in the Fort Myers News-Press about he judicial races. From the
article:

While circuit judge races in other parts of
Florida have become spirited contests, they've also been traditionally
lower-profile in Southwest Florida, with few attorneys willing to challenge a
sitting judge whose performance has stayed unscathed. Still, one attorney,
Steven Leskovich, filed to run against incumbent Judge Amy Hawthorne. Hawthorne
was chosen by Gov. Rick Scott from a pool of applicants to fill a vacancy a
couple of years ago, and faces her first election.

Leskovich raised $31,190 through 59 monetary
contributions, $30,000 in one personal loan and $1,368 through 10 in-kind
contributions, and spent $26,935 through 7/18/14. The largest single
contribution was for $1,000, contributed by 22 donors, including 14 attorneys
and law firms.

Other of note: The majority of contributors are
attorneys. There are also bail bondsmen, local business people, a few homemakers
and retirees, a student nurse and a textbook salesman.

A campaign postcard delivered to my home listed
“Steven’s Guiding Judicial Principles: Always be Fair and Impartial; Treat all Litigants
with Courtesy and Respect; Bring Integrity and Strong Ethics to the Bench;
Uphold the Laws of the Land Fairly and Honestly.”

A Google search turned up the
previously-mentioned News-Press
article, with the following information about Leskovich:

Leskovich said there was "no particular
reason" that led him to file to run against her, but he also mentioned
that she was first chosen through the appointment process….

Leskovich's filing papers list a couple of home
addresses in and outside the circuit, but he said he now lives in Punta Gorda
and also owns a home in Sarasota County. He also filed for personal bankruptcy
in 2009 and business bankruptcy about a year ago, but said those issues have
been resolved.

The bankruptcies were the effect of a former
partner who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the business, and
caused additional problems through identity theft, Leskovich said. Filing for
bankruptcy seemed the best way to keep the practice going and pay employees, he
said, and now he has first-hand experience in dealing with those kinds of
problems.

Discussion

I am struck by the similarity in backgrounds
between the two candidates. Both received undergraduate degrees in a liberal
arts field. Both served early in their careers as assistant public defenders,
then went on to private practice specializing in criminal and family law.
Neither have had significant community involvement. For both, most
campaign contributions came from attorneys and law firms.

While both raised about $30,000, Hawthorne had 156 donations while Leskovich had 59. Also,
Hawthorne received seven $1,000-contributions; Leskovich had 22. Hawthorne
loaned her campaign significantly more than Leskovich ($100,441 vs $30,000). All
that said, I’m not sure what it tells us about which would be a better judge.

The fact that Hawthorne has been a sitting judge
for two years, having been appointed to fill a vacancy by Governor Scott, is
one significant difference between the candidates. Another is Leskovich’s past
bankruptcies.

Based on this information, I will vote for Amy
Hawthorne for Circuit Judge for Group 16. If you have additional
information about either candidate, I’d be most interested in hearing it.

His campaign post card, mailed to
my home, says, “Recently, the 20th Circuit’s Judicial
Nominating Commission supported Robert as one of a select few qualified
applicants for appointment by the Governor.”

A Google search turned up no red
flags.

Group 3: Mary Evans

Mary Evans

Mary Evans, according to her campaign website, “is a
family woman with a successful law practice in the broad field of family law
[who] is married and is the proud mother of a 12 year old daughter.” Her
campaign slogan is “Fair, Impartial, Thoughtful.”

Both candidates appear, from
what’s available online, to be appropriately qualified, and I found no red
flags in a Google search.

However there is a distinct
difference in the sources of campaign contributions between the two candidates.
Brannings’ are primarily from attorneys and law firms, with fewer smaller contributions than Evans'. I’m concerned about the
significance of Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott’s endorsement and $500 contribution to Branning.
Scott is a politician whose
politics I don’t share. Evans’
contributions come from more diverse sources.

Mary has consistently refrained
from discussing any partisan politics or party affiliation whether it be hers
or that of another candidate or member of the judiciary and she has prohibited
her staff and volunteers from discussing same. Mary has not attended any
partisan political activities and has prohibited her supporters from campaigning
at any partisan political gatherings. Mary’s financial support has not come
primarily from a single occupation narrow economic group but from a broad
spectrum of our socio-economic constituency. Partisan politics or special
interest groups and their potential influence have no place in judicial
campaigns or on the bench and there are no degrees to Integrity! Mary Evans
sincerely pledges to uphold the Integrity, Independence and Impartiality of the
Judiciary and uphold the Constitution and enforce the Law.

I like that. I also like what Evans’
various community affiliations say about her and her priorities..

I will vote for Mary Evans for
Circuit Judge for Group 3.

___________________

In my next post, I’ll review the
candidates for Circuit Judge for Group 16.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Soon after I published my endorsements for the School Board elections, I began to receive requests for advice about which judges to vote for. (I also received lots of emails of appreciation for the School Board analysis, which was wonderful.)

As one who is passionate about being an informed voter, it is great to know so many people are seeking information. But it’s also disconcerting. Why are we at such a loss when it comes to the judicial candidates? Why isn’t the news media helping us with these decisions? These questions may be the subject of another post, but for now, let’s understand what we are being asked to vote for.

Courtesy of www.flcourts.org

Article V of the Florida Constitution establishes a four-tiered judicial system. The top two tiers are appellate courts that review the decisions of the courts below them. The third and fourth tiers are the trial courts.

Appellate courts

Appellate courts review and affirm, reverse, modify or send back with further instructions the judgments or decisions of a lower court. The Florida Supreme Court(Tier 1) and five District Courts of Appeal(Tier 2) are Florida’s appellate courts.

Collier County is part of the Second Appellate District.

Appellate court judges are appointed by the governor. They serve six-year terms, and stand for “merit retention” election at the end of each term. Voters vote “yes” or “no,” to retain the judge or not, but do not have the opportunity to choose between alternatives. If the majority of voters votes “no,” the judge is replaced by another gubernatorial appointee.

Trial courts

Circuit Courts (Tier 3) handle most criminal and civil cases. Cases are usually heard before a jury. Circuit Courts also hear appeals from county court cases. There are 20 Circuit Courts in Florida.

Collier County is one of five counties in the 20th Circuit. All voters in a circuit can cast votes for each race regardless of where the judge is based.

County Courts (Tier 4)(aka "the people's courts") handle citizen disputes such as traffic offenses, less serious criminal matters (misdemeanors), and relatively small monetary disputes.Each of Florida’s 67 counties has its own County Court. Cases are usually not heard before a jury.

Circuit and County Court judges stand for election in nonpartisan races every six years.

Decisions for Collier voters: District Court of Appeals

In November, we will have the opportunity to vote for or against three incumbent judges in merit retention elections. They are Chris W. Altenbernd, Morris Silberman and Daniel H. Sleet. I’ll plan to look into their backgrounds at a later date.

Decisions for Collier Voters: 20th Circuit Court of Appeal

We have the opportunity to vote for one of two candidates in two separate races in the August primary: